Travels Through Time and Love
by GodAwfulLag
Summary: Link/Saria AU. I wanted to try something a bit different as far as Link's character went, so I portrayed him as almost an opposite of his well-established character. Link is a sixteen year-old teenager who hates his life at school except for his few friends. When a new girl comes into town, everything Link knows begins to change irrevocably. Rated M for a good reason.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to The Legend of Zelda video game franchise. All rights to characters and places mentioned belong to Nintendo. I am merely using the character names and places. **

* * *

The clear, pure note of the bell tower in Hyrule Castle City rang through the occupants' ears, marking the start of the time of worship to Din, Nayru, and Farore; the three goddesses that had created the Triforce out of nothing but their own wills. Hyrule's many citizens bustled around the market portion of the city, buying and selling their goods. Cars of all colors littered the streets and the driveways of the modern Hylian homes, their inhabitants of peaceful and cheerful dispositions.

Save Link, a lean teenager of sixteen with dirty blonde hair. He lit a cigarette as he stood waiting for the bus to school. That goddesses-damned bell gave him a headache. He scowled at the children that skipped blithely through the streets. He wished they'd get smashed by the church bell. He'd only finished half his cigarette by the time the bus arrived and cursed the driver for her punctuality, stamping it out on the sidewalk.

"Don't you know you'll die if you do that enough?" Asked one of the smaller children present.

"Duh, kid. Of course I know. It's called the internet," Said Link sardonically, glaring at the kid. He turned away and found his seat at the back of the bus, cramming into it uncomfortably. He took his phone out of the pocket on his green hoodie and plugged his headphones in as there was nothing else to do on this droll ride.

Link was a scowling drone every day. He hated the school material. He hated the teachers and the students. But he especially hated that vapid, brainless girl. Zelda. Always mingling with the jocks and their puffed-out chests. The "popular" people. She made Link sick, along with almost everyone else she knew.  
The one person that Link associated with Zelda that wasn't a total tool was her brother, Sheik. Link had met him in grade school. Link and Sheik had gotten along immediately, mostly because of their mutual interests and similar senses of style.

"Today sucks," Link complained, sitting down across from his friends.

"Like every other day, yeah." Replied Darunia, Link's big goron friend. "You say it every day, bro. Talk about a downer."

"Yeah, bro." Agreed Sheik. "I'm gonna tell you what you need, dude."

Link raised his eyebrows in question.

"You need a girl. It'd make you feel better about, well, everything, and it would loosen you up." The sheikah sniffed. "Maybe she'd get you off smoking, too."

"Normally, I'd take that advice to heart and spring up and skip off to find a girlfriend," Link mocked. "But if you guys haven't noticed," He looked around as he spoke. "Every girl in this school isn't my type."

Sheik and Darunia groaned in unison. "Not this shit again." They said.

"Dude, we're only lookin' out for you." Sheik said, wearing a vexed expression. "I wish you'd at least try. I mean, you're my best friend, man. I only wanna help you." At Darunia's hurt expression (most likely a joke) he grinned and punched him playfully in the arm, saying, "Aw, come on. You know I love ya, big guy."

"Our point, Link, is that you need to stop being so picky." Stated Darunia, grinning.

Link shrugged. "To tell you the truth, guys, I'm just waiting for the right one to come along. That hasn't happened yet."

"And how long have you been waiting for that?" Sheik countered with barely a pause. "The odds that the perfect girl will just show up and instantly get wet for you are... slim, to be perfectly honest. That's why you need to do some looking. Put forward some effort."

Link sighed. "I guess."

"Now, the homecoming dance is two weeks from now; that Friday. It's Tuesday now. Between now and then you need to find a date, dude." Darunia put in.

Link sighed again, but adopted a more determined countenance. 'Maybe... Maybe they're right. Maybe I do need to try harder.' For the first time that day, Link grinned.

* * *

**Yes, a short first chapter. I merely didn't feel the need for much introductory exposition. That'll come later. Please R&R, give me feedback on things I should change, add, or take out entirely. I would appreciate it all immensely. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

It had been exactly six days since that day at lunch, and Link sat in his room, annoyed.

He still didn't have a date.

He had tried, and had been rewarded with several awkward encounters with a few girls. He had always had problems with nerves around girls, especially when a situation arose that was even slightly romantic and, of course, involved him.

But no one could say he hadn't tried.

Link was frustrated at his failed attempts at romance, not just now but all throughout his life. Whenever he tried to make any sort of a move, which was rare because of his nerves, something was off. It was as if the part of his brain that was supposed to talk to girls had taken off for the day.

One of the things he excelled at and enjoyed highly was playing guitar. He sat frustrated, and he released it through the music he was writing down.  
As he absently strummed chords on his guitar, he thought about another lonely night at home on the eve of the dance.

With the event merely four days away, he was disappointed in himself.

* * *

Link waited for the bus, smoking, like he usually did. The school day passed without incident, except for one thing, at lunch.

Link, Sheik and Darunia were chatting about random things of little importance when Sheik suddenly said, "So Link, man. I take it you don't have a date for the dance yet," He smirked, continuing eating. After a while of Link sulking Sheik said, "So there's this new girl in my Hylian history class. Real nice girl. Guitar player, Kingdom Princess fan, funny." He acted as if he wasn't speaking only to Link.

Link sat up straighter, cocking his head to the side while faking a bored expression.

"Anyway, me being the natural gentleman, I offered to help her with her first day, show her around, help her become familiar with the school, her classmates, blah blah. She accepts, of course, which just shows the level of charm that Sheik Harkinian possesses." Link gave him a dark smile. "Then she asks if there's a band club. And of course there's a band club."

Sheik lounged in his chair. "Now, I could just snatch up this little gem for myself... Or I could let you have a shot, Link." He looked directly at him now.

Link shifted in his seat.

"So come to the band room, after school." Sheik said, a glint in his eye, as if he found something funny in that. But then, that was Sheik always.

So then when the final bell shrieked, Link walked determinedly toward the back of the school.

"Hey, bro." Link said, walking inside to find Sheik drumming a smooth jazzy beat, accompanied by one of his bassist friends. Link nodded to him, then said, "So what's up? She here?"

Sheik shook his head without missing a beat, and said, "Nope, but I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"What's her name?"

"Saria."

"What's she like?"

Sheik smiled and said, "Your type." Link nodded nervously, not wondering how Sheik was sure of that; Sheik was his guy when it came to girls. Link had always lacked the natural skill required to smoothly negotiate the social minefield that was conversing successfully with girls, so he had always included Sheik.

The proverbial love guru picked up on his beat, suddenly lost in it.

Link sat down in a chair near him, waiting.

After an uneventful twenty minutes of musicians arriving and unpacking their various instruments, Link decided to go for a smoke, and in ten minutes he would leave.

He felt like an outsider here, and Link had nothing to gain from sitting here after school being stared at.

He told Sheik he'd be back, and left the room. When he turned the corner, his life would change forever, but he didn't know that yet.

He walked right into someone, knocking them both flat. There was a small chorus of "Ow!"

He looked up, and his breath caught.

The person who laid before him was a girl with distinctive green hair streaked with black. Her eyes were the color of emeralds, and her pale heart-shaped face made her seem as if she liked smiling. Her shirt read "Kingdom Princess All", she had multiple piercings in her nose, ears, and lips, and while she was a full foot shorter than Link, she possessed a full figure, all of which made Link swallow hard.

Link rose to his feet, putting on a mask of ease, offering his hand and saying, "Uhm, sorry." She took his hand and he helped her up, the contact making his hand prickle pleasantly.

"Don't worry about it," She said melodiously. She smiled at him. "I'm Saria, what's your name? You look familiar."

Link considered the question, dazzled as he was by Saria's dimpled smile, and said with some mental effort, "I-I- my name's Link." he stuttered.

Slight recognition colored her pale features. "Link the guitar player?" She asked, and at Link's surprised expression, said, "Sorry, I know that's like, really creepy, but I met this really helpful guy in my Hylian history class, Sheik, and he told me all about you." Link's stomach clenched somewhat painfully with nervousness. 'What, are you ten?!' Link thought waspishly to himself.

"He's a friend of yours, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I've known him since grade school." Link grinned, mostly for her benefit. "He can be crazy sometimes, but he means well."

"Cool! I think it's cute when guys have been friends since elementary school." She said with a small chuckle.

She glanced around. "Hey, were you going anywhere before I walked into you and trapped you here?" She asked.

"Oh," Said Link, suddenly finding his shoes interesting. He realized he had been wringing his hands a bit, and forced them to his sides. "I was just going for a smoke. No big deal; we can talk when I get back."

"Actually, can I come with?" She asked.

"Of course," Link answered, pleasantly surprised.

Outside, after lighting them both up, Link gestured at her shirt. "I've got the same one at home." He smiled more easily now.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously? I've never met another Kingdom Princess fan before. My old school kinda sucked."

"I can't get enough of them. They're my favorites." He chuckled.

"They're mine too!" She said, glowing.

When they finished their cigarettes and went back inside, they chatted about music, movies, and their favorite video games as they walked back to the band room.

Link reflected on his day so far. When he smiled this much... he never smiled this much. If he ever had, he would have been faking it. But this girl, Saria... Something about her felt so... real.

* * *

Sheik POV:  
Sheik saw them come in, talking animatedly, and he realized that Link was in. He was caught. 'That was quick,' Sheik thought amusedly. He could tell by the way he spoke to her, laughed at her jokes, but most of all, smiled at her. Saria seemed to be a bit smitten with him as well, which had been his hope when he'd introduced himself to her today. They spoke with such a familiarity that it astounded Sheik.

Link spotted Sheik and led Saria over, offering her his chair. "Hey, Sheik!" She said. For the next hour and a half, the three chatted, but the veiled sheikah mostly kept to himself, wanting Link and Saria to get to know each other without interruption.

* * *

Link POV:  
Link and Saria walked together to the after-school buses in comfortable near-silence. "Hey, Link?" She said suddenly.

Her tone made him frown. "Yeah?" He asked.

"I know this might, like, creep you out and everything, because I just met you, but I was thinking just now,"

Link wasn't one hundred percent sure why, but he had a bit of difficulty maintaining a neutral expression.

"We should hang out sometime. This week. We could talk about things, and jam together... you in? It'd be fun." She said, suddenly looking somewhat hopeful.

Link gulped and said shakily, "I think that'd be fun too, Saria. I think that you're... pretty cool."

She blushed for the first time. Link didn't think that was fair, since she had had him turning red constantly in the past couple hours.

"... Thanks. I've.. got a good feeling about you, Link. I'd like to get to know you more, in a lot more detail."

Link flushed, noticing her low, silky tone. Maybe she was speaking that way by accident?

"Alright," Said Link, "I guess we'll work out the details tomorrow, yeah?"

She nodded, regaining her warm smile. "I'll see you then, Link." She waved, and he waved back, climbing the stairs to the bus, in the best mood he'd been in in months.

* * *

**Well, hello again. This chapter is a bit longer, and I'm feeling good about the story so far. I usually name chapters, but I feel as if it diminishes the suspense of the chapter content by a bit. Let me know what you think. :)**


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